he return any classified documents in his possession. we've learned that during these conversations he wanted to know what they could do to push back on this, how would they fight? what were their options? some say these are significant. the special counsel is looking into potential obstruction of justice. another source points out, look, these are reasonable questions to ask your attorney when you receive a subpoena. it's extraordinary that we have access to these kinds of details. the special counsel has this information because he went to court and he fought to get around attorney-client privilege. he argued this legal advice may have been used in furtherance of a crime. >> it's extraordinary, though, because usually conversations between a lawyer and the client are completely considered privileged and walled off. donald trump is not above the law, but certainly isn't below the law. what do you make of this

decision? >> special counsel jack smith has been aggressive in getting around attorney-client privilege. there are certain pieces of information he believes he needs in order to answer the question about whether classified documents were mishandled and there were efforts to obstruct. he went through the proper channels to get to around attorney-client privilege. you want to speak freely to your attorneys without it coming back to potentially bite you. >> paula, stick around. i want to bring in tom dupree, former assistant attorney general. what do you make of the contents? it's extraordinary this was allowed to be revealed. what do you make of the contents? >> the way it's not surprising is the president wants to fight the subpoena. that's what we've seen, his lawyers often over the course of his time in office would urge cooperation with the justice department. that's not his nature. his nature is to fight.

doesn't surprise me. that's the first question, what can we do to battle this. the thing that does surprise me, apparently from this great reporting, we're hearing he had much greater involvement in the subpoena response than we knew previously in terms of instructing people to remove documents, how are we going to prepare documents for the justice department. i think that is in particular what the special counsel is after. he wants to prove president trump's intent and mind set. he wants to prove that president trump obstructed the justice department's investigation. >> how damaging do you think it is? >> we don't know the full extent of what is in these notes. at this point you can see why the special counsel wants to know, how do we respond to this company. we know they had concerns about whether things were being moved. we remember walt nada who serves as a valet is mentioned in these notes. he's caught on surveillance

footage moving boxes out of a storage room, the same room evan corcoran had gone into looking for classified materials. i think it's clear why the special counsel would want to see these notes, but it's too early to judge, all the evidence to know if this is truly incriminating. >> obviously this is speculation, but based on what we do know, how could these notes be used to make a potential case against trump by jack smith? >> i would say that president trump knew he had a legal obligation to return the documents, number two, he knew clfs classified information stored within those documents and he instructed his agents to remove the documents. the special counsel has been very aggressive in piercing the privilege, cutting through the privilege like a sigh through a wheat field. every time the special counsel is gathering evidence and making his case. >> also a lot of drama inside

donald trump's legal team, as is par for the course with mr. trump. >> yes. >> former trump attorney, timothy parlatore left the team last week, and he talked with you about it and why he left. he said it wasn't because of the case itself or trump. >> the real reason is there are certain individuals that made defending the president much harder than it needed to be. in particular, there's one individual who works for him, boris epshteyn, who had really done everything he could to block us, to prevent us from doing what we could to defend the president. >> so parlatore is claiming that boris epshteyn kept the rest of the team from doing their jobs. how? >> he said he prevented them from doing the searches for additional classified documents after the search weren't was executed at mar-a-lago. that is an extraordinary

accusation to make about another lawyer, moved right to the line of accusing him of obstruction. that's what the special counsel is looking at, did anyone try to obstruct this investigation. a former spokesperson pour the former president responded and said, tim is no longer on the legal team. what he said about the lawyers currently representing the former president, that is untrue. we're used to infighting in legal circles. that's nothing new. something like this spilling out into public view, a lot of questions about whether the former president will be listening, if he'll change his approach. we do think the special counsel will likely take note of this. >> it's odd and it's unusual, parlatore not only leaving the team, but no offense, a great interview, congratulations, big scoop. but giving the interview and naming names. >> it shocked me. lawyers don't do that type of thing. so much of the evidence is special counsel is gathering to use against the former president is coming from his former

lawyers. they're saying things on tv. normally your lawyers are a bulwark, a shield to protect you. in this case they're generating the evidence that's going to be used against president trump. >> if what he's saying is true, that's a lot of power for boris epshteyn who, let's be frank, he's not f. lee bailey. it does appear the special counsel is nearing the end of the investigation regarding the classified documents. what sort of defense strategy do you think we'll see? >> this is part of the disagreement, how aggressive should they be in pushing back directly on the special counsel and prosecutors and how aggressive should they be in the court of public opinion. the brig question is what's up with mark meadows. he's the most important witness for the january 6th investigation, possibly mar-a-lago as well. radio silence from him. no communication between his legal team and the former president's team. a lot of questions about the extent to which he's cooperating, when and if he will

testify. once we see him, then we'll know that the evidence-gathering phase is concluded, which we think they're close to the end. we'll see if he brings any charges. >> fascinating, paula reid, tom dupree, thank you. after weeks of a brutal and deadly assault. the russian mercenary group wagner claims it has captured the eastern city of bakhmut, claiming they captured the town after 224 days of brutal fighting. the leaders of ukraine deny this. they say ukrainian forces are still in control of buildings flanking bakhmut. cnn's nic robertson is in ukraine for us. is this potential defeat problematic for ukraine in the long run? >> reporter: yes, it is. it's a morale issue. it's a morale issue for them and for the russians, the russians gain something. this is a tough war for the

ukrainians. they've lost this. it makes many soldiers question their political leaders. did they make the right decision, lose so many soldiers? the counternarrative is into sucked up and killed a lot of russian troops. if russia pushes through bakhmut and comes over the hill and through the country side, it moves to the next towns. there's no doubting that's their target. we were along the front lines very, very close to bakhmut. you get the real sense from soldiers there that this war just is giving them a kicking. barely out of the armored troop carrier, incoming artillery. we're going to wait in this little basement until the shelling is over. then they think it will be safe to move forward. a few minutes later safe to come

out of the army outpost a few miles from bakhmut, last night was hard, a lot of shelling. call side gambit tells us the soldier is still shellshocked from an anti-tank rocket attack. we'll get back in the vehicle and try to get a little closer to the front lines. ten days ago these troops pushed the russians back around bakhmut, but their advance is slowing and harder. we get to a small hq, call side fox, a former farmer is readying his troops for their coming shift on the front line, stopping the russians in bakhmut from advancing. >> how hard is that? >> it's impossible to describe these feelings he says. you can only experience it. no words can express it. they shell a lot. as we talk, it is clear this war

is taking its toll. >> you only have to look at the soldiers' faces here to know how tough this battle is. they all look worn. they say morale is high, but their faces are telling a different story. we move on towards other positions and stop as the shelling increases. we've just been told that the place we were going to is under heavy shelling. we'll pull back and go somewhere else. in the battalion bunker, the commander tells us the russians have ramped up shelling on his troops since they advanced. tons of ammo, shrapnel, tanks firing, everything. he unit's drones recorded their recent successes, but now the russians have regrouped, and in a moment of candor following losses the previous night admits morale is flagging.

let's be honest, he says, we are fighting heavy for more than a year. my soldiers went through many battles and two rotations near bakhmut. troops are exhausted, but we endure. >> bakhmut which is just over the hill in that direction has become an object lesson in how russia's wealth in men and ammunition can prevail, and that unless ukraine gets the modern weaponry supports from its allies, it's going to struggle to tip the balance. call sign fox and his unit load up for their hard miles at the front, an end of war, getting back to their families, what drives them into the shelling. >> in another bizarre development, some separatist russian forces who are allied with ukraine have crossed the border and actually invaded

russia? >> reporter: yeah. look, what their troops are doing in and around bakhmut and other places along the front line is to try to find a weakness in the russian front lines, to force the russians to pull more troops in from one area to another. that's happened around bakhmut. i think what we're witnessing at the border, how bizarre, that essentially ukrainian allied forces can drive across the border into russia. russia is at war with ukraine. they call it a special military operation, but how can the border be so weak, a handful of ukrainian vehicles can cross the border, apparently take prisoners, put the local mayor on the back foot under assault from citizens saying you're not doing enough to protect us, what is it designed to do? it appears as if the ukrainians are trying to force the russians to redeploy troops out of the

fight in ukraine to get along the border and defend these many, many hundreds of border crossings that apparently they're not defending. i think that's ukraine's ploy right now because it wants to create weaknesses so it can get through with a big counteroffensive. this is one way to do it. >> nic robertson, please stay safe. the sister of paul wheel l len /* whelen is going to join me live. plus, a potential solution in an enormous water fight impacting 40 million americans. then we're talking to r.k. russell about his time in the nfl and being the first openly b b bisexualal active player on the roster. stay with h us.

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world lead. a surprising upbeat conversation with paul whelan, one of the americans wrongfully detained in russia. whelen, a former u.s. marine was detained in a moscow hotel in deese 2016 december 2016.

whelen says he feels -- he says he feels confident his case is a priority for the government but he wishes it could be resolved faster. >> i've got the usual aches and pains of forced labor and poor living conditions. that's a daily reminder of where i am and how long i've been here and the need for our government to get me home. so i remain positive and confident on a daily basis that the wheels are turning. i just wish they would turn a little bit more quickly. >> wheel len talking to jennifer hansler. i'm joined by paul's sister elizabeth. how long has it been since you've heard from your brother? what do you think of what he said to cnn? >> paul can talk to my parents relatively frequently. we were thrilled that he was

able to talk to jennifer hansler. i'm amazed at his resilience. he has to bring that courage every single day. he has to wake up every day knowing he's in the forced labor camp, and to get that back. it's amazing after 4 years and 5 months he's still able to do that. i hope the u.s. government has a response for the russians that is worthy of that kind of faith. >> your brother, of course, was left behind when russia freed brittney griner. since then they've detained "wall street journal's" evan gershkovich. i want to play what your brother told us last night. >> i have been told i won't lay behind, that evan's case and my case are priorities, and people are cognizant of the fact that this is having a negative impact on me and my family. >> are you confident that paul's

case is a priority for the u.s. government and the biden administration? >> yes, i am. what i need to have confidence in is that we're moving forward with alacrity. we're almost 4 1/2 years into it. we need to know there's a current very good plan and there's an exceptionally strong backup plan if this doesn't work. paul has been waiting too long to come ho michigan. security council meeting t the attended by sergey lavrov. it turns out your brother was watching. is what he told us last night. >> it was funny. we stood here in the prison watching the tv, watching my sister speak at the u.n. everyone was mesmerized this sort of thing can happen.

i said in america, in canada, england, ireland, this is the sort of thing that we do. we have the freedom to speak out and to speak at a place like the u.n. >> what's your reaction hearing that? >> we were amazed that he could see -- that he could view that. that was just incredible. i hope it gave him some fortitude, some confidence that we're doing everything we can. now we need to press russia. that's the important part. i do believe our administration is doing all sorts of things to try to get paul home. we have to push russia. the security services are obviously in some kind of chaos right now. this is all taking too long. we can't allow the kremlin to continue to have the upper hand in these cases where they're detaining americans wrongfully. >> listen to your brother's message for president biden. >> mr. president, i have been held hostage for more than 52 months, and the only crime i committed in russia is that of being an american citizen. freedom is not free and comes at

a price. but the loss of freedom is even more costly. i pay that cost every day russia holds me. please follow through with your promise of commitments, truly make my life a priority and get me home. thank you very much. >> anything you want to add? >> i just -- it's heartbreaking, isn't it, to hear something like that? you hope that all the people working on paul's case, those having three meals a day, sleeping in a comfortable bed, realize what he's gone through for 4 1/2 years and do what's needed to get paul home. >> elizabeth whelan, thank you so much. obviously we'll continue to cover your brother's story. >> thank you very much. it is the meeting that could avoid financial ruin for the united states. in just minutes president biden and house speaker mccarthy will try to reach a deal at the white house when they meet. stay with us.

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with global secure networking from comcast business. it's not just possible. it's happening. we're back with our money lead. in just a few minutes president biden and house speaker kevin mccarthy will resume negotiations over the debt ceiling, the two of them meeting at the white house with just ten days to go before the u.s. defaults on its debt according to the treasury secretary. earlier today mccarthy sounded the alarm to cnn telling manu raju that a deal will have to be agreed to this week in order for the legislation to be drafted and for the bill to pass the senate and the president to sign the bill before the june 1st deadline. cnn's jeremy diamond joins us from the white house. what do we know about the remaining sticking points in the

negotiations? >> with just ten days to go until potential default, we're not just talking about a few sticking points, but really most major areas of this negotiation remain unresolved. we're looking at the issue for spending caps, for example, how long would the spending caps last, what level would they be? what's the breakdown between defense and non-defense spending. there are other policy issues they're trying to work through. i've gotten a sense in talking to folks here is that today's meeting between president biden and speaker kevin mccarthy could be a potential inflection point. in particular, after we saw sputtering talks over this past weekend with talks starting and stopping. today, though, president biden and speaker mccarthy will get together and they will be together in the room with just their teams. the other congressional leaders who had previously been in these meetings will not be there. i'm told that's a reflection of the state of these negotiations and ultimately this is a deal

that's going to need to come down to president biden and speaker mccarthy with both of them needing to deliver votes. >> treasury secretary janet yellen sent a new letter to speaker mccarthy with an update on the timeline. >> she's reiterating the fact that this potential default will come as early as june, potentially as early as june 1st. she said in the letter, quote, we estimate it's highly likely that treasury will no longer be able to satisfy all the government's obligations if congress hasn't acted to raise orr suspend the debt limit by early june and potentially as early as june 1. she said highly likely. that's increased confidence from last week when she simply said it was likely they'd hit that timeline. so a ramped up warning from the treasury secretary. >> jeremy diamond at the white house, thank you. let's discuss this with former democratic south carolina governor back carry sellers as

well as adviser -- >> i think that joe biden is someone who has made deals, bipartisan deals, whether it's the infrastructure bill or covid relief, he's been able to go in when times get tough and pull people together. i anticipate he'll be able to do that again. thaens one of his major selling points. he uses his 40-plus-odd years of experience in getting things done. he knows he's going to have to give a little bit. i'm interested to see what speaker mccarthy can do rounding up troops in the house. >> more than 40 years. i think it's closer to 50. no offense. you're young. i get it. >> he's trying to undersell it. >> i'm living proof that america is the land of opportunity and

not a land of oppression. this isn't just my story. it's all of our stories. the circumstances, the situations may be different. the details may change, but every single one of us are here because of the american journey. where there were obstacles, they became opportunities. >> scott is often described as being a happy warrior, more in the model of ronald reagan than perhaps donald trump. do you think that sort of messaging, that message works in today's gop? >> i sure hope so. i watched his announcement today. he's a spectacular orator. it felt like you were in church listening to it. back carry is probably saying, can i get and a amen, right?

his message from the beginning, he says i like to look forward out of the windshield, not backwards out of the rear view mirror. i think that's what he projected today. not just republican voters, but americans would love to hear that kind of talk from all their politicians. by doing so, i think he's taking a not-so-subtle swipe at the former president and others who want to look backwards. he said this is about looking forward. he said the americans want to hear not just the bad situation we're in now, not about having victims but about victory moving forward. >> bakari, you've known tim scott for a long time. senator scott went on the offensive against biden and democrats during his address. let's run a little bit of that. >> when i cut your taxes, they called me a prop. when i refunded the police, they called me a token. when i pushed back on president

biden, they even called me the "n" word. i disrupt their narrative. i threaten their control. the truth of my life is i'm the candidate the far left fears the most. >> what do you make of that? do you think democrats actually fear him the most getting the nomination? >> no. democrats actually fear somebody who can win the primary. let me say this. tim scott is the most principled politician we have on the playing field out there, joe biden as well. i want to talk about tim for this moment because today is his day. he's somebody of very, very high character. i say that with all the honesty i have. we disagree on policy. in fact, i think tim was flat-out wrong in many of the statements he made. tim' story is a phenomenal story. he talks about this being the land of opportunity. in that same story he

acknowledges he himself is a miracle. this isn't the land of milk and honey and opportunity for us all. he, himself, had to be a miracle to get to where he is today because of the color of his skin. i also think that tim brings up a unique point we're going to have to talk about. tim actually goes out and he acknowledges the fact that most african americans aren't conservative, particularly in the south. they have a conservative bid. the difference with black republicans is they don't stand up to the truth of white supremacy and racism in this country. i think tim scott is a very honorable man. he has the characteristics of looking forward. however, i think this campaign is going to prove to be tough because this republican party is the republican party of donald trump. there's a currency of racism whether or not they want to admit that or not. i don't know how he navigates that. >> david, senator scott has right now -- it's early, yes,

but has low name recognition, polling in the low and single digits. he has raised some money. some speculate he's running for vice president rather than vice president. "the messenger" dug up a 1995 article with a 30-year-old scott in which he was asked about running for the white house. this is how he responded back then. he said, quote, as vice president, you get to speak more and have a forum to deliver messages. that's 1995. what do you think? do you think he's running for the whole thing? >> i'm sure -- how should i say this. i'm sure he's shooting for the top of the ticket. i don't think he gets in the race and says i'm running for vice president. in my opinion, he would be happy he was accepting the vice presidency knowing donald trump is only going to serve one term and he'd be likely teed up to be the next president of the united states. he's going to introduce himself to america in these coming weeks. i think he's going to do very, very well.

if i was both president trump, tim scott and others, i would use the biden, don't compare me to theree to the alternative. a poll out has biden on a woeful 34% on the economy, 24% on americans thinking the economy is in great shape. his favorability is about 40%. a sitting president and the sitting vice president are in pretty bad shape. i think tim scott will provide a nice contrast to those folks in the white house right now. >> bakari, donald trump went on his social media account, truth social and wished tim scott the best. he attacked ron desantis in the process writing in part, quote, tim is a big step up from ron desanctimonious who is totally unelectable. that does seem as though that's a pretty clear sky he views desantis, not tim scott, as a threat at least right now. >> i think so. i think it also goes to the

character and who people know tim scott to be. look, tim scott is not going to get in the mud with donald trump. we have a saying in south carolina that you get in the mud with pigs, everybody gets dirty but the big likes it. he's not going to roll around and get dirty with donald trump. i don't think tim scott is going to do that. i think he's going to run a campaign, even though i don't see it being successful, i love tim scott. i would give him a kidney. i just would never vote for him. a lot of people will have the opinion of him being a good, honorable man, just not president of the united states. >> we're going to get your vote bakari. >> we'll see. david urban and bakari sellers, thank you. coming up, the dress code drama put a high school graduation in mississippi in the national spotlight after two students were banned from walking across the stage. stay with us.

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in our national lead, a second high school senior in mississippi was banned from walking in her graduation ceremony because of the clothes she was wearing underneath her gown. that student's mother tells cnn she was pulled out of line minutes before walking across the stage to receive her diploma. cnn's isabel rosales reports this comes after another student from the same school missed out on the ceremony for a dress code reason, but also a little bit more. >> our comfort zone -- >> i would like her to stand up for what's right than be humiliated and feed into their thoughts and their opinionated feelings on what's right and what's wrong with gender identity. >> reporter: this 17-year-old wants to go by her initials l.b. out of concern for her safety. she tells cnn less than two weeks before her graduation ceremony she got pulled into the

principal's office at harrison central high school in gulfport, mississippi. >> she asked me what i was going to wear to graduation, and i told her i was going to wear a white dress. she told me i was not going to be allowed to wear a dress and i would have to wear boy clothes. >> reporter: according to the district's dress code, girls should wear dresses or dressy pants. it doesn't specify students should dress according to the sex assigned at birth. >> i feel like there shouldn't be gender in it. >> reporter: during prom last year she wore this dress without a problem. >> i can't understand why they would change it so suddenly. >> reporter: she and her parents took the school district to court. they pointed to this agreement l.b. and her mother signed two weeks before the graduation to honor the dress code. >> when we signed it, we were under the impression that --

>> i would have the girl's dress code -- >> she identifies as female, so he went by the female dress code. >> reporter: soup ten didn't mitchell king wrote that they rely on birth certificates. taylor mcneil, former appointee of donald trump denied the family's request for l.b. to attend graduation dressed as a girl. >> it was detrimental, to know i won't be able to experience my graduation. >> reporter: on saturday, a second student was accused of violating the dress code at the same high school commencement ceremony. a school supervisor pulled her out of the lineup shortly before walking across stage for wearing black pants. >> she tells her she can take her pants off and walk the stage, but she needed white shoes. she can walk in her underwear but she can't walk in pants.

>> reporter: jake, mothers for both of these students are evaluating their legal options. cnn reached out to the school district and harrison central high school. superintendent mitchell king did comment to our affiliate simply saying we followed the graduation policy of the harrison county school district. jake. >> isabel rosales, thank you so much. he's the first openly bisexual player in the nfl, now r.k. russell is opening up about football and coming out in a new memoir. he's going to join us live next. enjoy what i l love to do. as long as you can make an impact, why stop? hey bud. wow. what's all this?

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sfla. >> in our sports league in 2019, made history by becoming the first active nfl player to publicly identify as bisexual in his recently released memoirs,

"the yards between us" a memory of life, love and football, russell describes how he was led to the sport, the hardships he faced and the painful, yet powerful journey of accepting who he is and r.k. russell joins us now live. i have the book here, rk. congratulations. why was it important to share your story? >> thank you. thank you so much. it is important for me to share because in sports specifically, in male sports we don't see a lot of out athletes not since pt four years ago when i came out and not now. we've had some come out since then, but is the sports culture really changing? are these stories being shared? and just the handful of people that have come out, those stories are few and far between and it's important to champion those for all athletes. >> you also faced racism. you were open about the racism you encountered as a child in texas. you write, quote, as a black man in texas you know when white men see you they inevitably react with fear, prejudice or hate

unless you have on the right color jersey or helmet, end quote. you mentioned colin kaepernick protesting police brutality and racial inequality by taking a knee in the national anthem in 2016. since 2016, we've seen much more public protests of this sort of thing, of police brutality and inequity in the nba and the wnba and mlb. the list goes on. how important is it that athletes with those with the major platforms speak up? >> i think it's very important especially when you are a part of this community and though you are an athlete or person at this level then not many are, it's important to always remember where you came from and to remember the people that have gotten you there and people that have supported you in the community that you embody as allies as well and it's important to be an ally not only to your teammates, but to the communities that they come from

and the places that they feel very connected to. so i think, you know, to have the means to really effect change for people like you and unlike you is a part of being a professional athlete. >> you're pretty candid in this book. not only about the acceptance of your sexuality, but also about your struggle with grief, your struggle with alcohol. you wrote, quote, black people don't go to therapy, they go to church, unquote. you explain the need to demystify the stigma around mental health including the plaque community. why do you think the stigma exists in the black community, in your view? >> i think that a lot of things specifically here in america around the black community have been put in places to either oppress, erase or to hold back or restrain. i think we can all agree and i certainly agree in things like systemic racism and things that are inherently anti-black in our

society and the stigma around mental health and wellness is specifically hushed in plaque people because those are the people that have had the most trauma in the country and to realize that and to realize the unrest that being black in america has caused us will incite change and resistance and incite a fight in plaqueblack p that we've seen ahead of the black lives matter movement and the protests that are ensuing now. >> and you talk about being more than a football player. towards the end of the memoir, you write, quote, i'm no longer strapping on a helmet and shoulder pads to clash with individuals. today my opponent is hate, unquote. how are you tackling hate? that's a tough opponent to tackle. >> definitely, and you know, ink it's an ongoing thing. just like the game of football, it's something that requires lots of people and it's

something that requires a team with people with the same desires and goals and making sure that you are challenging systems that are rooted in hate and that you're educating those around you and that you are creating and limiting the example and the bigger picture is to encite or to be a part of the movement, and to create alliship because there are people affected by homophobia and racism. >> the yards between us." r.k. russell, congratulations on the book and thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. president trump's comments at the cnn town hall may have just landed him in more legal trouble with e. jean carroll. that's next on "the lead," but first, here's wolf blitzer with a look at what is coming up in the situation room. >> we are following fast-moving developments in ukraine where russian forces are claiming victory in bakhmut after several months of truly excruciating

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step one: feed them with miracle-gro shake 'n feed. that's it. miracle-gro. all you need to know to grow. just in in our law and justice lead, writer e. jean carroll is now asking the judge to amend her initial defamation case against donald trump to seek additional damages after he made the following comments at our cnn town hall with mr. trump. take a look. >> they said he didn't rape her, and i didn't do anything else, either? because i have no idea who the hell she is. >> can i -- >> they said, sir, don't do it. this is a fake story and you don't want to give it credibility. >> one thing you did do in this -- [ applause ] >> and i swear i've never done

that, and i swear -- i have no idea who the hell -- she's a whack job. >> we should note this is a separate legal case than the one we saw earlier this month when the jury found that trump sexually accused ms. carroll and awarded her their 5 million and for defaming her and this lawsuit is about separate comments made about e. jean carroll when he was president and that lawsuit is currently in the hands of a lower court judge and if you have an invite in the tiktok @jake tapper, if you ever missed an episode of the show listen to the lead all two hours sitting there like a big, delicious birthday cake and our coverage continues now with wolf mri blitzer and "the situation room." see you tomorrow. >> happening now, tense negotiations at the white house as the clock ticks toward a potentially catastrophic debt default this as treasury secretary janet yellen issues a

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